‘On Fire with the Spirit’

CLIFTON  With great power comes great responsibility and at the latest youth Mass and Holy Hour, Bishop Kevin Sweeney encouraged high school and college students from across the Diocese that through the Holy Spirit each one of them is called to be witnesses to God’s love.

It was the third installment of a series of youth nights the Bishop has hosted in the Diocese.

This event, held in St. Philip the Apostle Church here April 18, focused on the Holy Spirit.

In his welcome to the young people, the Bishop said, “Happy Easter. We come together to celebrate as we do each year with the whole Church, these 50 glorious days celebrating the Resur­rection of Our Lord, who rose from the dead. I’m so happy to be with you tonight — the youth of our Diocese, the youth of Clifton, as we gather here. We ask the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and light thy fire. We pray especially for all the young people who are preparing to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation in these Easter days.”

The youth events each begin with Mass followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with music. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is held at each of the events and at this month’s event, the Bishop heard confessions of young people, many of whom waited to receive God’s healing love after the event.

In his homily, the Bishop asked the young people, “Are we filled with the Holy Spirit? Are we on fire with the Holy Spirit? How can the Holy Spirit get through to us? The Holy Spirit can work in us in so many different ways, but only if we are open to it.”

The Bishop shared with the young people that he received the Sacrament of Confirmation when he was in seventh grade and did not fully understand what it meant to be “filled with the Spirit.”

“During high school, I first started to pray and ask Jesus for help. I had a teacher in high school who taught us the Prayer of the Holy Spirit. At first, it was just some priest praying this prayer but little by little, I asked what is this Holy Spirit all about?” The Bishop spoke about receiving inspiration through songs he listened to as a youth and he told the young people, “We need to be inspired by heroes; those who teach us or tell us what the Lord has meant for us to be.”

During his homily, he told the youth to look for inspiration through Blessed Carlo Acutis, who is the first millennial to be beatified by the Church. The possible future saint died of a rare form of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. The Bishop said, “He converted his parents. Anyone who got to know him saw that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and he helped them to know Jesus.”

During the evening, two teenagers from local parishes shared their personal reflection on the Holy Spirit.

Antonio Escobinas, a high school senior and youth ministry member at St. Philip Parish, said, “The Holy Spirit surrounds my life and helps me make decisions on a daily basis. I pray about every decision big or small so that I may truly know God’s plan for me. I am grateful to have a watchful eye always on me with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There are days where I find myself weak or unable to push through on my own. However, I am always picked back up on my feet at the grace and love of the Holy Spirit.”

Previous youth nights with the Bishop were held at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, where the focus was on the sanctity of life, and at Holy Trinity Church in Passaic, where the focus was on reconciliation and Lent.

The next youth Mass and Holy Hour will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 21 in Immac­ulate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne. Youth from anywhere in the Diocese are encouraged to attend. However, social distancing measures will be observed. Father Pawel Tomcyzk, diocesan director of Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and youth ministry, and the chaplain at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Drew University, Madison, is the coordinator of the youth nights with the Bishop.

Another high school senior who spoke at the event was Jennifer Cortes, a member of the youth ministry program at St. Anthony Parish in Passaic. She looked back on her Confirmation day, which occurred more than a year ago. “That day was inexplicable joy. By the end of Mass, I felt a change in me. It became a moment that defined a new chapter in my life. Whether it be gratitude or motivation, it felt like I was given a unique opportunity and I wanted to make the most out of it. It’s a chance I didn’t want to mess up.”

Even after the excitement of receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, she realized months later that with faith you have to work constantly at it. “The most important thing is to pick myself back up. I genuinely seek God and try to practice my faith. I can’t just go to Mass, say my prayers and hope that I just enjoy it. I can’t just do those things just because I have to. Other­wise it just becomes a routine. I have to open my eyes, my ears, my heart to the Holy Spirit.”